VMA DJ Calvin Harris Nabs Moonman For Best EDM Video

The VMAs always recognize the most important movements in pop culture. This year was no exception, with the unquestionably vital Electronic Dance Music scene taking center stage before the festivities even began. The VMA house DJ himself, Calvin Harris, nabbed the Best EDM Video Moonman for his “Feel So Close” during the pre-show leading into the main event.

When MTV News’ James Montgomery announced his name, Harris was already inside, behind the DJ booth holding his Moonman in front of the crowd.

The brand-new category saw Harris squaring off against a who’s-who of his peers: Swedish DJ Avicii, who was nominated for “Levels”; American/Canadian duo Duck Sauce and their “Big Bad Wolf”; Martin Solveig’s “Night Out”; and Skrillex with “First of the Year (Equinox).”

EDM was on fire all year, and MTV created the Best Electronic Dance Music Video category in recognition of that fact. VMA producers set out to adopt the sound, spirit and energy of EDM in other ways, too. The audience/performer give-and-take helped inspire the open floor plan at Staples Center, allowing the 1,500 plenty of room to dance.

Earlier in the week, Harris gave three lucky Pepsi NOW contest winners a taste of his “epic” plans for the VMAs during closed-door backstage rehearsals.

The “Feel So Close” clip was directed by Harris’ frequent collaborator Vincent Haycock, who has worked with Spiritualized and MSTRKRFT. “Feel So Close” was the second single from Harris’ forthcoming album 18 Months, which is due in October and has spawned four singles thus far.

The video for Harris’ collaboration with Rihanna, “We Found Love,” is up against clips from Drake, Gotye, Katy Perry and M.I.A. for Video of the Year.

Flying Lotus’ short film with unreleased tracks

Warp Records have just revealed a short film, ‘Until The Quiet Comes’, featuring music from the forthcoming Flying Lotus album of the same title. The three tracks in the short movie have never been heard before.

‘Until The Quiet Comes’ by Flying Lotus is released on October 2 in North America October and October 1 elsewhere.

Las Vegas duo Black Boots signed to Ultra Records

They don’t have a Twitter account. You can’t find them on Facebook or SoundCloud. They don’t have any of the trappings of that modern, cloud-based social-networking infrastructure. Yet somehow the Las Vegas duo dubbed Black Boots recently signed an exclusive deal with one of the world’s leading electronic labels, Ultra Records. But with tracks only in rotation in their own DJ sets, how did Pedi Amiri (a.k.a. Lightknife) and Mikey Francis (formally of Afghan Raiders) score such a sweet deal?

“We’ve been doing this thing in secret, honestly,” Amiri says. “We wanted to go against the grain of the music industry. People say now that you need to have a million views on YouTube, you have to have a huge following on Twitter and Facebook.” Instead, he and Francis focused on making music first, hoping the sound and vibe of Black Boots would speak for itself. “We sent it over to Ultra, they fell in love with it and signed us on as a long-term project.”

So how can you explore what Black Boots sounds like? “Right now there’s literally—and intentionally—nothing out there for a few more weeks,” Amiri says. Fortunately they letVegas Seven give their tracks “Streetwalker” and “Rebels in the Night” a listen, as well as a peek at their teaser video/short film by local director Jeremy Cloe. As much as putting music into genre boxes sucks, we’d describe it as indie-dance or electro-rock. “It was this whole concept of mixing a little bit of rock ’n’ roll, a little bit of the indie vibe with a serious, non-compromising dance-floor banging sound—and I believe that’s what Ultra liked in the project,” Amiri says. We dig it, too, and suggest you follow @Lightknife and @mikeyXfrancis for Black Boots updates.

Ben Klock mixes Fabric 66

Klock is invariably introduced as a Berghain resident, having been a core member of the family surrounding the Berlin club since it opened in 2004. Along with like-minded artist Marcel Dettmann, he played a big part in shaping the signature sound of Berghain’s downstairs room: galloping, uncompromising techno, often delivered in stretches of eight hours or more. But Klock’s artistry is by no means restricted to that single club—his profile has shot up internationally over the past few years, and he’s proven an ability to make his sound work in venues around the world.

Fabric 66 shows a slightly different side of Klock. “I didn’t want to include any of my ‘hits’ from my sets this time,” he says. “The idea is more that you have something to discover when you listen.” By interspersing straight up techno tracks from the likes of James Ruskin and DVS1 with understated selections from Trevino, Burial and Alva Noto, Klock shows the range that exists within his trademark style. The mix will be launched with a party at Berghain on October 13th and then at fabric on October 27th.

Pioneer CDJ-2000 Nexus

Pioneer have unveiled the CDJ-2000 Nexus, the new flagship of their renowned CDJ range.

Keeping the same DNA as the previous iteration, the new Nexus moniker brings a range of features which make DJing an even slicker experience.

New Quantize functions keep everything in perfect time, whilst dedicated controls for Master and Sync also ensure there are no nasty beat clashes. Mixing in key is also now better than ever with the Nexus – thanks to a traffic light system that allows DJ’s to see which will combine well.

Add the ability to load music via USB, CD or now even Wi-Fi as well as an informative, pinsharp display, and the CDJ-2000 Nexus promises a revolution in DJing.

The CDJ-2000 Nexus is available from late September 2012, at an SRP of £1,599.